Physical therapies in 19th century Aotearoa/New Zealand: Part 1 – Māori physical therapies

Abstract

This paper is the first of three reporting on a historiographic study of physical therapies in 19th century Aotearoa/New Zealand. This first paper focuses on traditional Mäori healing practices. The paper begins by setting out the parameters for the study and outlining the role that massage and manipulation, electrotherapy, hydrotherapy and remedial exercise played in societies around the world prior to the 20th century. We then explore traditional Mäori physical therapies, focusing on two broadly 'orthopaedic' conditions (fractures and back pain), before examining accounts of two predominant forms of physical therapy: massage and the use of Aotearoa/New Zealand's abundant thermal springs. We conclude the paper by examining the cultural shift that took place with colonisation after 1840, and consider the effect that this shift had on Mäori physical therapy practices prior to 1900.

Architecture of geothermal places: socially and culturally responsive therapeutic landscapes

“…Steam bathing played an important role in nineteenth century Māori physical therapy, according to the observations of local settlers (Figure 8). Mineral and geothermal springs were utilised extensively not only for physical therapy, but also for cooking, washing, recreation, and also as sites of ritual or spiritual significance (Nicholls, Harwood, and Bell 2016). Early European settlers seized the opportunity of utilising the springs as they were likely reminiscent of popular European balneological and tourism practises at the time.…”